2018 seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. One minute we’re excited for summer and before you know it the holidays are here. With 2019 just around the corner, it’s time to start gearing up for the New Year by seeing what innovative marketing tactics you can add into your existing plans.
In the world of legal marketing there’s no sign of slowing down. Intelligent new techniques are here to combine high-tech with age-old techniques that aim to keep your firm relevant in the years ahead. Let’s take a peek at a few of the top legal marketing trends you’ll want to look out for in 2019:
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Go Mobile
If your firm has a website that hasn’t been updated in the last five or so years, chances are it’s not mobile friendly. While the website may look great on a desktop or laptop computer, if potential clients pull it up on their smartphones, it will likely be very difficult to use.
Just this year alone, 63 percent of all Internet traffic is conducted on mobile devices and tablets. Even more alarming is that by 2021 mobile data use is estimated to be seven times what it was in 2016.
Another thing to keep in mind is Google is already prioritizing mobile-friendly websites in search results over others. This means that if your site is not sufficiently mobile friendly, it will likely fall behind the pack and get lost in the myriad of search results.
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Have a Visual Appeal
 Eyesight happens to be the most advanced of our senses. In today’s world we are often inundated with images, infographics, memes, and much more. The biggest change in 2019 in terms of visual marketing strategies is the continued appeal of video marketing.
Video based content alone is expected to make up a whopping 80 percent of all online traffic by the end of 2018. Videos are a powerful way to way to humanize your firm’s mission, values, and services for potential clients. In 2019, law firms will need to explore more engaging genres, such as social media livestreams, webinars, or animated shorts educating potential clients about a particular legal issue.
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Find Your Voice
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several years, you’ve probably heard the names Siri and Alexa. Smart speakers like these have entered the homes of nearly 43 million Americans. In case you’re wondering, that’s 18 percent of the country – and that number only continues to grow. Not only is the use of these services becoming more and more prevalent, it’s becoming prevalent among a wide spectrum of consumers because it transcends generations. While younger audiences have proven eager adapters of voice technology, older generations often find them easier to use than typing on a tiny screen.
Voice searches tend to be more conversational than written searches. Instead of two to three keywords, vocal searches are often made in complete phrases. This should change the way we think about keywords: instead of a heavy focus on two-word keyword phrases, consider longer phrases, anchored in a more conversational tone.
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Keep it Local
A year or two ago, searchers commonly included a location when searching for services online; but now it really isn’t necessary to include a location within your search terms.
In terms of legal marketing, it’s important for your website content to have a sense of locality in order to capitalize on local searches. By ensuring your website content includes location keywords, your law firm website will appear more often in organic search results for searchers whose location is close to your office.
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Analyze and Report
If you ever feel in the dark when it comes to how your firm’s website is performing, whether or not social campaigns are driving traffic to the right place, or if your marketing is bringing in the proper leads, you no longer need to. There are many tools marketers use day in and day out to monitor and track various website – and you should use them too.
Data and reporting allow you to further understand your return on investment for marketing expenditures and to monitor how successful your law firm’s different channels perform over time, thus giving you the opportunity to understand the full value of your investments.
Want to Learn More?
Looking for more insight on 2019 legal marketing trends? The professionals at Stacey E Burke, P.C. can help! We have a multitude of experience in law firm business development and branding, social media advertising, website design, and more. Contact us and get started on your path to skilled legal marketing for your firm today!
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